Bats-- Nature's bug zappers 2012

Carmel Boy Scout Troop 202

Boy Scout Troop 202 built and installed eighteen bat boxes to encourage bats to live in several Carmel recreational locations. Bats are known to consume hundreds of insects each night, making bats an effective and natural way to reduce biting and stinging insect populations, minimizing the need for pesticides in areas where families enjoy the outdoors. Permanent informational signs were installed to educate the public about the benefits of encouraging little brown bats to live in Carmel.

Bat houses are designed with the opening on the bottom and narrow crevices between strips of rough-sawn wood. Bats crawl up between these crevices, much as they would crawl into a crevice in a cave or the inside of a hollow tree.

Working with Clay Middle School teacher Mark Weaver and Hamilton County parks employees, the Scouts learned that they would need to drill four feet into the ground to offer long-lasting support for their bat boxes.

Bat houses in the Northeast United States should be attached at least 15 feet high with at least 20 feet of open space, facing south to southeast to gain exposure to sunlight, painted black or left natural, and receive at least 6-8 hours of sunlight each day.

One of the boxes installed at the Clay Middle School eco-lab, was placed low as a teaching tool to allow students to view how bat boxes are constructed.

In the northern two-thirds of the U.S. and Canada, bat houses have been used as summer roosting spots by little brown bats, big brown bats and pipistrelles. Approximately half of all bat houses are occupied within the first summer and up to 80% are occupied within the first 2-3 years.

The placement of a bat house plays a major role in the internal temperature. Houses can be attached to structures such as poles, sides of buildings and tall trees without obstructions. The area under and in front of the bat house should be clear, allowing the bats to fly in and out. Houses placed on poles and structures tend to become occupied quicker than houses placed on trees.

In addition to installing the well-designed bat boxes and amazing educational signs, Boy Scout troop 202 Eagle Scout candidate Duncan Moran also created and distributed informational brochures to educate the public about the many benefits of attracting insect eating bats.